A midwife at South Tyneside Hospital says there was no need for all births to be cancelled.

And the concerned worker says she thinks the temporary closure might be related to long-term proposals to shut the hospital’s special care baby unit (SCBU) for good.

Last week, bosses announced it was no longer safe for women to give birth at the district hospital, after a staffing crisis forced the SCBU to shut its doors.

The announcement provoked fury among campaigners fighting to maintain services in South Tyneside, and a public rally will be held outside of the hospital’s Harton Road entrance, to call for the immediate re-opening of the service.

Now, one midwife, who wishes to remain anonymous, has said a meeting about the potential end to or reduction of delivery services led staff to offer plans to keep the maternity unit running in full.

South Tyneside District Hospital (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

She said: “Various departments offered to get together with Special Care to come up with a rota, working with neonatal nurses and midwifery staff.

“That would mean we could be fully functional as a maternity unit.

“The various managers got together and created a workable rota which meant the unit could provide ongoing neonatal care at a safe level for patients.

“This rota was presented to high level management and proved that the department could continue to run safely.

“We were told the solution to keep the department running was being considered.

“Many staff left the meeting feeling hopeful and confident that we had solved the problem, in the short term at least.

“It was then suddenly announced that the unit was to simply stop taking patients, which obviously meant the solution had been rejected.

“We can’t understand why.”

She said many staff were afraid the closure was a precursor to the permanent closure of the SCBU, replacing it with a midwifery led low-risk only maternity unit. She claimed staff were firmly against these plans.

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She said: “A lot of our patients don’t have access to cars and would be faced with the prospect of travelling to a hospital outside of their local area, sometimes alone, in part if a city they don’t know.

“It could also mean extra pressures on the ambulance service, who would have to transport patients further afield.

“For the midwives it is so frustrating, it means going to work in a unit with nine, fully equipped labour rooms all with theatre facilities and one dedicated operating theatre, all kitted out with thousands of pounds worth of machinery, all lying empty.

“Meanwhile, women are worried about going into labour and not knowing where they should go to have their babies.

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“This is completely unnecessary and we don’t understand why a decision has been made to close a vital asset to a community which could safely remain functional.”

The midwife said the staffing problems at the Special Care unit could be solved if positions for extra, trained workers were simply advertised.

South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust said the decision to suspend the unit was taken for the “safety” of all women concerned, and had been a “difficult” decision fully supported by regional and national NHS leaders.

Derek Curry, head of midwifery at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are continuing to work very closely with our staff to look at all possible solutions to try and resolve the severe staffing challenges we face in our Special Care Baby Unit.

"We have been absolutely clear, however, that any suggestions put forward must be safe and sustainable so that we do not end up in a similar crisis situation in the immediate weeks ahead.

"This has been an extremely challenging and stressful time for the staff concerned who have shown tremendous amounts of goodwill and already been working heroically over and above the call of duty to keep services running safely.

"We have a duty of care to our staff, as well as our patients, to ensure we maintain a safe service and the health and wellbeing of our workforce is of equal concern to us.

"It is vital that whatever solutions are put forward can clearly demonstrate that we are able to consistently meet nationally required safe staffing standards for neonatal care.

"We will of course keep all stakeholders updated on this situation as soon as we are able to.‎"